FuSE Celebrates 10 Years of Training Young Seed Execs

Jamie Johansen

asta-14-255-editedDuring the 131st American Seed Trade Association’s Annual Convention in Indianapolis, IN. the Future Seed Executives (FuSE) held a joint FuSE/Management Skills committee meeting focused on the Power of Inclusive Leadership. I spoke with FuSE founder and Vice President, Business Development for Gro Alliance, Jim Schweigert, and he shared what lead him to start this group for young professionals in the seed community.

When Jim attended his first ASTA convention he was shocked with how few young people were present. He expressed this observation with then chairman Don Wertman. Don simply said, “Well, why don’t you do something about it.” Jim knew that if he didn’t feel welcomed into this association, then other people probably didn’t as well.

With help from other young people in the industry, Jim put together the basic concept of what is now known as the FuSE. This year FuSE is proudly celebrating their 10 year anniversary and are still focused on educating and supporting future seed industry executives. Their programs are designed as regional opportunities to expand learning, cultivate management skills, promote networking, and improve general understanding of the seed industry.

“I think the real big change is that seed companies are now using the FuSE programming as part of their normal process for new industry executives. In the past the large companies trained within their own organizations, but now they are engaging in the industry as a whole. For smaller companies, it’s really invaluable because they don’t have the same training infrastructure. Now they have an opportunity to network with other industry professionals and see the industry as a whole not just the company they work for.”

Listen to my interview with Jim here: Interview with Jim Schweigert, FuSE Founder

ASTA Annual Meeting Photo Album

Ag Groups, ASTA, Audio, Education, Seed

ASTA First Vice Chair from Oregon

Cindy Zimmerman

asta14-risaWe’ve talked with American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) first vice chair Risa DeMasi a couple of times before – a year ago when she was elected as the first woman officer of ASTA and again in December at the Seed Expo when we learned more about her company Grassland Oregon, which is very involved in the development of new cover crop species.

With Risa’s leadership, ASTA has started a cover crop working group. “Our whole focus is going to be on communication and collaboration,” Risa said, noting that the group includes representatives from conservation organizations and government as well as growers. “I think a lot of us are all trying to do the same things and it’s just a matter of putting the pieces together.”

Two counties in Risa’s home state of Oregon just voted overwhelmingly to ban the production of genetically modified crops, which she says shows how emotional the conversation has gotten. She believes using words such as new technology or advancements would be better than genetic modification or biotechnology. “We focus on GMO and it becomes this big, bad ugly monster,” she said. “Nobody wants to get rid of their cell phone, but if we hadn’t allowed that technology, where would we be today?”

Listen to my interview with Risa here: Interview with Risa DeMasi, ASTA First Vice Chair

ASTA Annual Meeting Photo Album

ASTA, Audio, Biotech, Conservation, Seed

BASF and Functional Crop Care

Cindy Zimmerman

basf14-huffFunctional Crop Care is the newest division of the BASF agricultural business, broadening what it means for the company to protect crops and help farmers get the most out of every acre.

BASF Functional Crop Care Senior VP Dr. Jürgen Huff says the division addresses additional needs beyond conventional crop protection. “Functional Crop Care consists of three segments: soil management, seed solutions and crop care,” said Huff. “None of them will work in isolation. We always look at the whole set of tools that we provide for farmers in making their corn and soybean farming more successful.”

Dr. Huff talked about BASF’s new LIMUS technology coming to the market in 2015 to boost efficiency of urea-based fertilizers. “Urea breaks down in the soil and it’s decomposing into ammonia and carbon dioxide,” said Huff. “LIMUS will provide an extended protection of urea-based fertilizers during the critical growth stages of crops.”

The Functional Crop Care division was really started with the BASF acquisition of Becker Underwood in 2012, which brought with it important seed treatments such as polymers for flowability. Watch his demo below of how that can help farmers during the busy planting season.Interview with Dr. Jürgen Huff, BASF Dr. Huff media event presentation

2014 BASF Ag Media Summit Photo Album

Audio, BASF, Crop Protection, Seed, Video

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

Zimfo Bytes

  • The online Master of Arts in Mass Communication with a specialization in Social Media teaches professionals how to develop, implement, track and analyze campaigns in social media, and to employ strategic and tactical approaches to contemporary media challenges.
  • Syngenta announced that Tyler Ring has been appointed head of North America Sugarbeet Seed business.
  • Mitsui Chemicals Agro, Inc. and BASF announced the signing of an exclusive global development and license agreement for a new insecticide (MCAG’s development code “MCI-8007”).
  • Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that BP and unmanned aircraft manufacturer AeroVironment received permission to use drones for flyovers of the Prudhoe Bay oil field.
Zimfo Bytes

How BASF Innovation Yields Results

Cindy Zimmerman

basf-media14-peterInnovation and new technology are what have enabled farmers to continue feeding a growing population throughout history, and BASF Plant Science President Peter Eckes says that is what will take us into the future.

“Ag is a great place to be and I think if you look at the last 100 years, technology has driven that,” said Eckes. “That has been a great story and I do not see an end to that.”

Eckes says BASF is proud to be an innovator and to partner with other innovative companies like Monsanto to bring new technologies to market such as the Genuity® DroughtGard™ Hybrids. “Monsanto is our most important partner,” said Eckes. “It had a great reception last year in the western part of the corn belt where you see a lot of drought. The product showed an average five bushel per acre advantage. This is good news for our growers.”

Eckes also spoke about work being done to develop newer and better fungicides and herbicides in this interview. Interview with Peter Eckes, BASF

2014 BASF Ag Media Summit Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, BASF, Crop Protection, Crop Science

Top Researchers Share Insights on Food Security

Jamie Johansen

asta-14-170-editedTwo World Food Prize winners shared their insights and experiences during a general session at the 131st American Seed Trade Association’s Annual Convention. Each shared what the seed trade industry can do to help feed the growing global population while sitting on a panel and taking questions from attendees.

Professor Emeritus of Food Science at Purdue University, Dr. Phillip Nelson, was the World Food Prize Laureate in 2007 for his work with aseptic bulk storage, which simply means ‘bag in a box.’ This has impacted the distribution of fruit concentrates in over 135 countries.

Dr. Nelson believes the seed trade industry can make sure that what is being produced in those developing countries is being preserved and not lost. He says we need to work with them in not only producing more, but producing a higher quality product.

When asked about what keeps him optimistic about the future, Dr. Nelson replied with the amount of young people who are passionate about the industry. He feels education is the key. Grants will provide funding to bring students from developing countries to U.S. labs and get them excited about what can be done and then take it back to there home countries and put it to work.

Listen to my interview with Dr. Nelson and his complete remarks here: Interview with Dr. Phillip Nelson Remarks from Dr. Phillip Nelson

asta-14-168-editedWorld Food Prize Laureate, Dr. Gebisa Ejeta’s development of drought tolerant and parasitic weed resistant sorghum has made him a celebrity in his home country of Ethiopia. He currently serves as the Director of the Purdue Center for Global Food Security and Professor of Plant Breeding & Genetics at Purdue University.

Dr. Ejeta also believes higher education is imperative. He says of all the things that we can do for those that don’t have much, building the educational opportunities should be on the top of our lists.

Public and private partnerships are another key element Dr. Ejeta believes needs to take place creating a win-win opportunity for both sides of the table. He says the seed industry can do a lot by expanding the market base and sharing knowledge and experiences.

Listen to my interview with Dr. Ejeta and his complete remarks here: Interview with Dr. Gebisa Ejeta Remarks from Dr. Gebisa Ejeta

ASTA Annual Meeting Photo Album

Agribusiness, ASTA, Audio, Food, Seed, World Food Prize

AgWired Transformation is a Positive

Talia Goes

New Holland ZimmPollOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What do you think about the new AgWired look?” It seems as though the transformation of the site draws a strong line between love and like, which we’re glad to hear! Sometimes change is a hard thing to swallow, but it seems like AgWired readers and pleased with the direction the site has gone.

Our poll results:

  • Love it – 33%
  • Like it – 33%
  • Hate it – 11%
  • Meh – it’s ok – 11%
  • Don’t care – 11%

    • Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “How would you rate the job farmers are doing telling consumers where their food comes from?” We’ve seen a lot more engagement from producers whether it be by participating in panel discussions, being active on social media, or just telling their story out in the country. What do you think – have you been hearing more positive stories from farmers or do they still need to speak up?

ZimmPoll

New ASTA Chairman Focused on Advocacy

Cindy Zimmerman

asta14-schoeneckerJohn Schoenecker of HM Clause moves into the chairmanship of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) after elections were held at the annual meeting in Indianapolis Thursday.

“As I become chair, one of my focuses will be advocacy,” Shoenecker said in an interview. “That’s part of our strategic plan, something we need to do to get the word out on the good things we do in our seed business.” The advocacy initiative will involved educating members on making their voice heard in the media and by policy makers on the state and national level.

“Make Your Voice Heard” will be the theme for next year’s convention, which will be held in Washington DC. “As part of that we’ll have a pre-convention event called ‘Storm the Hill,'” said Schoenecker. “So we’ll bring our members in, work with them for a day or so talking about the current issues on the Hill, give them some background on talking to their legislators and make them feel comfortable with the process.”

Listen to an interview with John here: Interview with John Schoenecker, incoming ASTA Chairman

ASTA Annual Meeting Photo Album

Agribusiness, ASTA, Audio, Seed

Academy – New Summer Courses!

Melissa Sandfort

Insights Weekly With planting season in full swing, growers and dealers alike are working around the clock to get the crop planted. At the Ag Leader training center, folks are staying plenty busy as well, as they prepare for the summer training season. In the midst of planting most do not think of harvest. However, Ag Leader is excited to announce that they will be offering Harvest 100 — an online course to their dealer network. Online courses allows dealers the advantage of completing training from anywhere at any time.

Taylor Jensen, Ag Leader Training Specialist, says to help dealers’ new employees get up-to-speed on Ag Leader products more quickly, the team has been hard at work developing a “New Employee” course bundle.

Listen to Jensen explain

And as equipment and technology progress and become more complex, the understanding of electrical and hydraulic systems becomes increasingly important. Jensen says Ag Leader’s training center has acknowledged the need for a more in-depth study of these systems.

Listen to Jensen explain

Jensen says for growers, their first stop for technical issues and trouble-shooting is always their local dealer.

Listen to Jensen explain

We hope to see you at the Ag Leader Academy this summer!

Become a fan of Ag Leader on Facebook today, and get the latest precision ag videos on the YouTube channel. For more information about Ag Leader products and services, or to visit the blog site, go to www.agleader.com.

Ag Leader, Agribusiness

Deron Johnson Joins FLM+

Chuck Zimmerman

FLM+Welcome Deron Johnson back to the midwest. FLM+, a strategic consulting, marketing and communications company, just announced that he will serve as senior vice president and a member of the FLM+ Executive Leadership Team. Deron will be based out of a new FLM+ operating location in Kansas City, Mo., to provide increased support and overall leadership to Kansas City-area based FLM+ clients.

“Many of us have known and respected the world-class work Deron has produced over the years. We are honored and excited to add him to our Executive Leadership Team,” says Rob McClelland, FLM+ president/CEO. “Not only is Deron’s agency and corporate background a significant benefit, his many successes in public relations and issues management will enable us to continue to deliver exceptional client work.”

“I have admired the strategic business model and growth of FLM+ and am energized to join the team,” Deron says. “Getting back to the hometown I know so well will be a wonderful opportunity to work with our important clients in the Kansas City area and to give FLM+ a local presence in this vibrant and growing agricultural center.”

Agencies